Background: Oral cancer stands among the 10 top causes of cancer death in the world. Considering the roleof epidemiologic information on planning and effective interventions, the present study aimed to investigatethe epidemiology of oral cancer in Iran. Materials and Methods: The required information for this systematicreview study was obtained from PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL,SID, Medlib, Magiran and Iranmedexdatabases, using key words “cancer”, “oral cancer”, “squamous cell carcinoma”, “oral cavity carcinoma” andtheir Persian equivalents in combination with keywords of epidemiology, prevalence, etiology, frequency, and Iranfrom 1990 to 2014. From 1,065 related studies found, finally 25 were included to the study. Results: The meanage of 8,248 patients in 25 studies was 54.0±15.1 years. The male/female ratio for oral cancer was 1.91. Tonguewith average percentage of 29.9 was the most involved site. Regarding microscopic grade, 65.7% of cases weregrade 1. SCCs, accounting for an average of 70.0%, was the most common among all types of oral cancer. In themajority of studies, smoking including cigarette, hookah, and tobacco consumption was found to be a risk factor. Conclusions: The epidemiological pattern of oral cancer in Iran is somewhat similar to that of other countries.Yet the information on hand in this field is limited and considering the role of epidemiological data we suggestconducting more accurate studies to catch data that is required for effective programs and interventions.
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